nrebie getting frustrated

Hi all, new member here. Started running (well, walking faster) in January this year, and I could hardly run for longer than 500 yards. I am up to 5k now (I run three day s a week, Monday, Wed, Fri) and I've sort of settled at 29m30s mark and cannot seem to improve - I've been running consistently that time for a while now. Am I impatient and should I just continue as I am or should I change something ?

You've done pretty well to get to 5k and carry on running - a lot of folk find life gets in the way and before they know it, the couch has that bum-shaped groove in it again

So you want to go faster over 5k - nice straightforward goal.

If you have a look around most advice would be to

a) increase your weekly distance for 2-3 months, bit by bit, e.g. just by making run #3 longer until it's 10k. Result - 5k seems a bit shorter, which helps mentally & physically from 3-5k

b) then start a bit of speed work i.e. go fast for a bit, go slower for a bit, rinse, repeat e.g. 5 x 400m with 200m gentle jogging between...AND/OR (not in the same week) go fast (not quite as fast) for 2-3k. Result - the pace you want to go at for 5k feels easier.

Might be time to join a local club - ours is not that unusual and the short version of the weekly club road run is about 5k and there are beginners' coached speed sessions at the track (also weekly). And/or try the local parkrun if there is one. Most people go faster if they're running after - or from - someone else

hiya, I've been running consistently 3 days a week no matter what, and recently (last 2 weeks) i've done 10k on wednesdays (1h02 and 1h00 so far). I've signed up for a 10k event this sunday - obviously not to compete but to see how will I do and how those events look like from the inside. My goal is 1). getting quicker 2). running 10k more comfortably and hopefully have a look at a half marathon and/or obstacle runs.

As for clubs, Cambridge Sweatshop is what got me running, they do coached 5k on Mondays and that's how I started.

I've signed up for a 10k event this sunday - obviously not to compete but to see how will I do and how those events look like from the inside.

But I think you SHOULD enter to compete, if against no-one else, then against yourself. Aim to beat your PB of 1 hour at least.

Also, once you're in with a crowd of runners, you might find that your competitive streak comes out. Sure, you won't be sailing home in first place, but it will give you a big boost as you find yourself overtaking people, no matter where you happen to be in the field.

I agree with all the advice above i recently took the big step to get to 10k and am consistently running these around 60 mins and a bit under. HIIT and Fartlek will massively help your pace, Ive started cycling and swimming a lot more as well. Hoping to do the General Rifle challenge in May and definitely want to smash it. If i smash that then i can start looking at moving up to HM's although at the moment its pretty daunting to run for that long without oxygen....lol

depending how much time you have to commit to running, you would also benefit from simply doing more mileage, at a slower pace than you normally run.

So add another run into your week, and gradually increase the time you spend running from 30 mins up to about an hour, then add another run into the week, so you're running 5 days, and resting 2 days. Make one of the weekly runs "tempo" runs where you're running "comfortably hard" (not panting for breath, but able to utter a few words) for a sustained period, like 20 mins, with a 10 min warm up jog and 10 min cool down jog.

Make one of the weekly runs even longer than an hour, but gradually, building up to 65 mins, then 70 mins, and so on. But do the bulk of your running at a nice comfortable, conversational pace.

Plan all this out in 4 week blocks, where you gradually increase the time/distance you spend running, but make the 4th week of each block a recovery week, where you still run the same number of times, but perhaps cut the distance for that week to a quarter or a third of the previous week. This controlled progressive overload of your body will prompt physiological changes, and the recovery will ensure you don't continue to overload to the point of breaking.

I had the same problem when I first started I found that breaking up the sessions for a while and going to the gym instead seemed to get my mind of it. Before I new it I was running further and faster.

Dont worry yourself so much before you now it you will be running further and further

Well done on your time mate. I started running like a month ago and just did a new PB of 26.45 for 5k.

It's all about building up your endurance level. What works for me is:

Sunday: 5-a-side 2 hour or so football matchMonday: Rest day Tuesday: Long slow run (just over 10k)Wednesday: Rest dayThursday: Slow 5k run with interval trainingFriday: Rest day Saturday: 5k run (race pace)

Keep at it every week and you will certainly see a change! Have patience and do not over do it! As I am new to running, I tend to keep an eye on my HR as well. It does help knowing that during your runs so you can see if your average HR is improving after each run. Mine certainly is!

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